The disclosure is directed to suspension clamps for aerial fiber optic cables. More specifically, the disclosure is directed to suspension clamps for aerial fiber optic cables having a preferential bend.
Optical fiber is increasingly being used for a variety of applications, including but not limited to broadband voice, video, and data transmission. Optical networks may use fiber optic cables in aerial and/or buried applications and each have special needs. For example, aerial applications require hardware such as clamps for hanging the cables under the tension of their own weight along with any environmental effects.
Aerial installations using round cables that have a generally uniform moments of inertia about their bending axes typically employ suspension clamps that have an elastomer insert and/or an axisymmetric radius feature at the clamp ends that help control the bend radius of the cable where it exits the clamp. However, cables having a preferential bend characteristic have different needs since the cable has different moments of interia about the bending axes of the cable. Cables with a preferential bend characteristic that are bent about the major axis will laterally torsionally buckle under sufficiently high lateral loads. Consequently, cables supported by conventional suspension clamps may twist in addition to bend beyond the clamp support limits.
Recent cable developments include the use of dry fiber optic cables having non-round cross-sections with preferential bend characteristics. Consequently, there is an unresolved need for suspension clamps for these types of cables